


The One Where They're in Publishing

by thestanceyg



Series: April Challenge Redux [5]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Writing & Publishing, F/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-05
Updated: 2018-04-05
Packaged: 2019-04-18 19:09:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14219820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thestanceyg/pseuds/thestanceyg
Summary: Holiday: First Contact DaySelf selected prompt: it’s the middle of the night and i’m walking home alone in the dark and there’s this guy following me and he’s starting to gain on me and i found this phone booth with a lock on the door and i tried to call my best friend but my hands were shaking so badly i accidentally dialed the wrong number and i don’t even know you but help me





	The One Where They're in Publishing

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dragongoddess13](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragongoddess13/gifts).



She knew she should have called it a night sooner, but she had been caught up in her writing and had lost all track of time. The city was good for her. It allowed her to stay up all hours somewhere that wasn’t her tiny apartment and write her heart out. 

The downside being that it was now after three in the morning and she was sure that the guy behind her had been following her for the last three blocks. It was making her nervous. Her phone had died earlier, cutting out in the middle of the playlist she had made for this novel. Her mom had been bugging her about buying pepper spray, but she had laughed it off. She was starting to wish she hadn’t.

She turned a corner and saw a phone booth up ahead. “Thank fuck for nostalgia,” she muttered as she pulled open the door and closed it. “Hell yes lock!” she whispered as she locked the door behind her and picked up the receiver. There was a dial tone. Immediately she dialled 911. Nothing. “For real? Isn’t every phone supposed to auto-connect that?” She pulled some change out of her pocket. Maybe she needed to pay to call 911? When that didn’t work either, she almost lost her cool, but she could see the guy, barely hiding in the shadows of the nearby alley, so she took a breath and started over, this time dialing her agent, Jane, the only other person she knew in the city. She let out a breath as it started to ring. Jane had barely said hello  before she started talking.

“Jane, there’s a guy following me and I don’t know what to do. I’m in some super convenient throwback of a phone booth, but he’s hanging out in the alley up the street and I don’t know what to do.”

“Miss?”

“Oh Christ on a cracker. Dialed the wrong number.”

“Miss, listen to me carefully please. I want you to tell me the number of the phone you’re on and the streets to the best of your ability.”

“Yes. Okay.” She looked over the phone until she found it. “Umm, 555-7677, and I last remember being on 157th? I was at the Little Bird Cafe?”

“I know where that is. Now, Miss, if the call cuts out, I will call right back, okay? I want you to stay on the phone with me until I get there so I know you’re okay.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“If you had been my friend and misdialed, I would hope someone would do the same. It’s the decent thing to do.”

“Are you calling the police?”

“Do you want me to hang up with you while I do that?”

“I...no. Not really. I’m scared.”

“Miss, I’m already out my door. I’m on my way. Just keep talking to me.”

“What...what should I say?”

“Whatever you want. Just keep talking to me.”

“My name’s Darcy? I’m an author. That’s why I was at Little Bird. It’s a great place to write.”

“You wouldn’t be Darcy Lewis, would you?”

“Ummm, why do you ask?”

“I loved  _ Hard to Say _ . One of my favorite books of last year.”

“You’ve read my book? But…it’s just a small little romance.”

“I don’t think ‘small’ is the word I would use. Maybe ‘carefully plotted’ or ‘concise and powerful.’ It was basically a firecracker that shined brighter than one might expect.”

“That...that sounds familiar.”

“Please insert another fifty cents to continue this call,” a robotic voice cut in.

“Hang up Darcy. I will call you right back. I promise.”

“Okay,” she said, her voice catching a little, the fear building up again. She put her finger on the receiver, keeping the handset cradled between her ear and shoulder. As soon as it started to ring again, she lifted her finger. “Hello?”

“Still doing good, Darcy?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Okay. I’m about two blocks away. I think. Since you didn’t know the cross streets, I’m guessing a bit.”

“I’m sorry. I’m new to the city and,”

“Don’t be sorry,” he cut her off. “Everyone had to learn at some point. Now, I need to know, were you working on a new novel? Is it a sequel?”

She laughed. “Yes I was working on a new novel, but it’s not a sequel.” He let out a disappointed whine. “But that’s because the sequel is already with my editor.”

“I’m happy to hear that! Not that  _ Hard to Say _ wasn’t perfect on its own, but it just really left me wanting more.”

“I’m flattered you think so. I really had fun with the characters and felt like there could be more to their story.”

There was a small knock on the door of her booth and she let out a small, startled noise, turning around quickly.

“Hi,” the man on the phone said at the same time as the man outside her booth did, raising his hand in a small wave. “Your escort has arrived.”

She snorted. “That sounds like I’m paying you for some, er, ‘services’ tonight.”

“You did call me from a payphone, and we don’t know each other.”

“Good point. How do I know you’re not as bad as the guy in the shadows?”

“You don’t,” he said seriously. “But, you maybe know my name?”

“But we’ve never met before. This is our  first contact .”

“Not exactly,” he said, holding his driver’s license against the glass.

“Phil Coulson? The reviewer?”

“Guilty as charged.”

She hung up and unlocked the door. “I might have the review you gave me framed on my wall.” It looked like he was blushing. “No, really. It was so flattering, and I know you don’t just hand out nice reviews.”

“I meant every word of it.” She took in just how handsome he was.

“This feels like the start of a story.”

“I’m eager to see where it goes.” 

He held out his hand to her. 

She took it.


End file.
